Michael Allen Seaton turned himself in to authorities shortly after 1pm in Milam County, where his mother lives, after a search for his whereabouts started to intensify, according to Milam Co. sheriff's deputies. Seaton, 21, is charged with capital murder in connection to the beating death of little Dustyn Skyler Roff.
Roff died from abuse he suffered inside an apartment in southwest Houston. Police say Seaton was babysitting Dustyn on Thursday and got upset when Glover got home late from her job at a day care center. Detectives say Glover watched as Seaton took out his frustrations on the child. Paramedics rushed the little boy to the hospital, where he later died. Police say the boy's body was covered in bruises from head to toe when the child died.
Harris County detectives had contacted authorities in Milam County when they determined that Seaton could be within their jurisdiction. Milam County authorities then tracked down family members, who confirmed he had been visited them recently but didn't know his current whereabouts. Detectives then urged his family to talk him into surrendering and shortly after, Seaton turned himself in.
"We were looking to avoid a bad situation. His surrender allowed us to get a monster off the street without having to put more lives in danger. It makes it hard to sleep wondering what could happen if one of my deputies or another officer might corner him, the outcome could have had tragic consequences," Milam County Sheriff David Greene said.
Detectives are heading to Milam County right now to bring Seaton back to Harris County, where he will be jailed on capital murder charges. Glover also is in jail, accused of failing to protect her son from Seaton.
Seaton is not new to the criminal justice system. He was one of four people convicted of injury to a child in a separate case back in 2009. Authorities say a 2-year-old girl's body was found in a field covered with bite marks and bruises. Seaton received five years probation in that case.
Dustyn's biological dad told Eyewitness News on Monday that he never knew his son was in so much danger living with Glover and Seaton, whom she'd met eight months ago.
But Eyewitness News learned late Monday that Child Protective Services had received two calls concerning this child. However, in both cases, the agency couldn't track down the mother and the child, CPS Spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.
In 2009, the family was reported for alleged neglect of proper supervision, Olguin said.
"We tried contacting utility companies, doing criminal background checks, just to see if maybe they had an address for her, you know even to see if family members might have any information as to where she and the child might live," Olguin said.
Then in October, another complaint regarding alleged neglect and abuse was reported to CPS.
"Again, the person did not provide a locating address and Dustyn's young, doesn't attend school," Olguin said. "So in these kind of cases, it really does make it difficult to try to find the family, and really a family that doesn't want to be found can make it hard for us."
CPS also said it isn't sure of Seaton's involvement in either incident, and it also claims that at no time was the agency aware that Seaton was living with Glover and her son.
CPS says it was aware of Seaton because the agency removed his children from him after his conviction in 2009.
